“Minamata disease symptoms have been generally thought to only affect peripheral nerves, but the Kumamoto University has presented findings that in fact the brain is impacted first. In other words, mercury causes abnormalities in the peripheral nerves that work for the brain. Even 30 years after the initial pollution is gone, its symptoms still persist in the brain. Once contaminated, it is difficult for the brain to recover its normal function.”

残念ながら、まだ、日本語版がありません。

“What must never be forgotten is that coal consumption does not only produce carbon dioxide. Burning coal releases massive amounts of mercury and other pollutants into the environment. Clean coal technology in power production is not going to remove these pollutants. Theoretically of course, it is possible to develop all kinds of apparatuses to remove these pollutants from the emission stream of coal combustion. But the more one removes pollutants and particulates from the emission stream, the more costly is coal-fired power per kilowatt hour… Raise its per kilowatt-hour cost, and it loses its main advantage to the truly clean energy sources, notably wind and solar, that are already at or close to grid parity (equivalent per kilowatt-hour generation cost) with it.”

(English) The Chief Medical Officer and Chief Physician of Denmark’s Faroe Islands officially request a total ban on the human consumption of pilot whales due to their mercury and PCB toxicity.

有害政策 汚染されたクジラ・イルカ由来食品の販売を禁止しない日本 www.eia-international.org 2008 要旨 この１０年の間に、日本で販売されている鯨類(クジラ、イルカ)由来食品の有毒化学物質の汚染濃度に関しては、専門家による独立評価が数多く行なわれてきた。専門家仲間による査読を受けた複数の科学論文によって、イルカ肉が政府の暫定的規制値の数百倍という濃度の水銀に汚染されていることが明らかにされている。 完全なレポートは、ここにあります.

(English) 2007 Marine Pollution Bulletin report on mercury contaminated cetacean meat in South Korea

(English) The Environmental Investigation Agency’s comprehensive research report on mercury toxic cetacean meat being harvested, processed and sold today in Japan.

Total Mercury, Methyl Mercury, and Selenium Levels in the Red Meat of  Small Cetaceans Sold for Human Consumption in Japan Tetsuya Endo, Koichi Haraguchi, Yohei Hotta, Yohsuke Hisamichi, Shane Lavery, Merell Dalebout and C. Scott Baker Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39, 5703-5708 Introduction We surveyed the total mercury (T-Hg) and methyl mercury (M-Hg) levels in […]

(English) Neurotoxicology and Teratology research report on the persisting effects of methylmercury poisoning among Minamata residents who ate contaminated seafood.

Distribution and toxicity of mercury in rats after oral administration of mercury-contaminated whale red meat marketed for human consumption T. Endo, Y. Hotta, K. Haraguchi, M. Sakata Published in Chemosphere 2005 Abstract Toothed-whales and dolphins have been hunted for human consumption in Japan, and their muscles (red meats) are highly contaminated with mercury (Hg). We […]